Party-list groups Gabriela and Akbayan want business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies based in Cebu sanctioned for allegedly compelling employees to return to work during the earthquake.
The action of Cebu BPO firms violated the Occupational Safety and Health Law and disregarded the lives of workers, according to Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago.
Gabriela is the principal author of Republic Act 11058 or the Occupational Safety and Health Law.
Elago said the right to refuse unsafe work is enshrined in the law and forcing workers to return to work amid aftershocks and without safety clearance is a form of exploitation.
Reports received by the BPO Industry Employees Network-Cebu revealed that BPO managers and team leaders reportedly failed to follow safety protocols, endangered employees by resuming operations without clearance from authorities, and threatened workers who insisted on their right to go home after the calamity.
The law provides that workers have the right to refuse unsafe work without fear of retaliation from management if their lives or health are at risk. Employers are mandated to suspend operations until competent authorities have declared workplaces safe.
Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña also urged the Department of Labor and Employment to investigate reports of alleged safety violations committed by BPO firms in Cebu.
Some BPO workers took to social media to complain about alleged labor violations such as having emergency exits blocked during the disaster.
They said some of them were forced to return to work immediately after the temblor subsided. Others were reportedly warned that they would be marked AWOL or absent without official leave if they refused to comply with the order.
Cendaña said companies should not sacrifice the safety of their employees for the sake of profit.
‘They were too insensitive if they forced their employees to return to work after a massive earthquake,’ he said.